Teresa James v. Mary Cynthia Mounts, James Phillip Rocconi, and Richard Anthony Rocconi

Summary

The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed the circuit court’s declaratory judgment that the decedent’s three children, rather than his former wife, were entitled to the life-insurance death benefit. The court held that the decedent substantially complied with the policy’s beneficiary-change procedure by completing and faxing the insurer’s form, even though he did not sign or date it. Because substantial compliance resolved the beneficiary issue, the court did not reach whether the policy provisions were ambiguous.